Summer Racing
by KedsandCoca-Colas
Summary: Chris and Gordie race each other in 100-degree heat on the first day of summer. Chris/Gordie slash.


**Hello Stand By Me FanFiction-ers. This is a Chris/Gordie one-shot because I think that they make a marvelous couple. **

The midday sun beat down heavily on the pavement. It was so sweltering; I wouldn't have been surprised if an egg cooked if placed on the ground.

My shirt was already soaked through with sweat and I wiped my forehead off with one hand.

It was too hot for a smoke, even though I craved it.

All I had was my cold coke, and even that couldn't relieve my parched throat.

I smacked my lips and tried to swallow some saliva to cure the dryness.

With my small bit of strength, I picked up the coke and took a swig, trying to spare some so I had more for later.

I pulled my keds off of my feet and threw them to the side, stretching my legs out in front of me.

Next, I pulled my sweat-soaked t-shirt off and laid it to the side neatly. I rolled up my long jeans so as to give my legs some air, wishing the whole time that I had a pair of shorts.

"Come on, Lachance!" A voice shouted.

I sighed, not wanting to stand up. It was too hot.

I squinted into the sunlight.

Chris was waiting for me about a hundred feet away with a root beer in hand. He too was shirtless and sweating like Vern running a marathon. He looked at me expectantly.

I sighed, "Coming Chambers." I mustered this with all I could.

With one last swig of coke, I got up and walked over to my friend, trying to focus on anything but the heat.

"Ready?"

"You're crazy Chambers. It's fucking 100 degrees out."

"That's the fun of it," he smirked at me.

I just shook my head, "Why am I even doing this?"

Chris winked at me, "Because you love me."

I sighed and tilted my head downwards, trying to hide the redness that was growing on my face, "Fine, let's get this over with."

Chris grinned at me and started the count, "Ready?"

I nodded shortly, peering off into the dusty landscape. A single winding road; grass a foot tall growing along the sides; fields stretching into the landscape; heat waves causing the trees in the distance to look blurry.

"Set."

My bare feet took their stance. Chris still wore his keds. He turned to me, smirked, and slowly parted his lips, "Go!"

The race was on. The soles of my feet pounded the dusty road and my heart did just the same within my chest. I was going so fast, I could barely feel the heat. I smiled and turned to look at Chris.

He was right next to me, pure determination on his face. The short buzz-cut he wore ruffled slightly with the wind. His keds caused the dust underneath him to fly upwards behind him.

The finish line was directly up ahead, and we were still neck-in-neck. Chris looked at me again, wearing an expression that said, "You better not win."

He sucked in some oxygen and picked up the speed, "Not this time, Lachance!"

I followed suit, laughing with the small amount of air I had left in me, "Watch out, Chambers."

I came up right behind him, gave him a quick slap on the back, and crossed the finish line just before he could.

"Damn it, Gordo," Chris slowed down, placing his hand on his knees, kneeling forward in a pant. He fell to the floor, his bare chest heaving up and down.

I collapsed next to my friend, so close that I could smell that flowery body scent; so close that I could almost taste the sweat.

"You're crazy, Chambers," I turned to him just as his head lolled onto my shoulder. His breathing still hadn't slowed, "100 degree heat for Christ's sake. Couldn't you have picked a better day?"

He didn't reply. He just cracked his famous Chambers smile. Inside, we both knew there couldn't have been a better day. It was the first day of summer. It was our taste of sweet freedom, at least from the pressures and work of sophomore year.

My eyes fluttered to a close. The heat was making me undeniably drowsy.

A few moments passed in silence between me and Chris. I heard only his slow breathing and the pumping of his heart against my arm.

In the distance, I heard birds singing and I was immediately reminded of a very important morning, a morning in August of 1959…

"_Hey, it's the boss man Bob Cormier here. It's a beautiful Friday morning in Portland. It's 90 KLAM degrees and getting hotter. Up the latter with another platter, it's Bobby Day with Rockin' Robin!"_

_Rockin' Robin began playing on the radio as I made my way into the tree house, where my best friends and I always hung out. This was the morning my life would change, the morning we were to plan a trip to search for Ray Brower…_

The song started to play in my mind as I began to fall asleep.

"_Gordie?"_

"_Gord-o?"_

A gentle hand shook me lightly.

"Gordie, wake up."

I opened my eyes slowly to see Chris looming above, looking worried.

"Huh?" I asked sleepily.

"You slept a while there."

"Oh. Is something wrong?"

He shook his head, "No, nothing's wrong."

I wasn't quite convinced. Something seemed to be plaguing him. He looked extremely nervous, and though it had cooled off since that afternoon, he was still sweating like mad.

"What is it, man?" I started to sit up.

He laid back down next to me, "I just- um, wanted to talk to you."

"Sure, man, you can always talk to me."

He nodded and swallowed loud enough for me to hear.

"I-" He choked up. I looked at him expectantly.

"Oh, hell," he said, running his hand across his buzz-cut.

I expected him to take a minute to say something else, but all he managed to do was smile nervously. He was so close to me. His body heat radiated off of him and surrounded me.

In one fluid motion, he came closer and closer until his soft lips grazed mine carefully. We stayed there for a moment, while hundreds of waves of chills ran through my body. His arms found my waist and he pulled me close. The hairs on the back of my head stood up and my heart fluttered, feeling like it was about to crawl up my throat.

The chills didn't stop until Chris pulled back slowly.

His face was flushed red as he pulled a piece of paper from his jean pocket. He rose from his position beside me and quickly handed it to me.

He didn't speak. He just raised a corner of his mouth in a typical Chambers smirk and walked away.

I watched him off into the sunset. It took a while before he was a small speck.

My mind was whirling and everything felt fuzzy.

I unfolded the paper with shaking hands.

_You smile like the sun. _

_You're beautiful like the moon. _

_I love you, Gordie. _


End file.
